Friday, 30 November 2012

Read about the Malaysian Bar Council elections at Jebat Must Die's blog, read here, the Bar Council rightly deserved to be criticized for refusing to be transparent in their own elections when they are a strong proponent of Ambiga's Pakatan inspired B E R S I H:

"In a historic session of the United Nations in New York Thursday, exactly 65 years after passing the Partition Plan for Palestine, the General Assembly voted by a huge majority to recognize Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member state with observer status in the organization. Some 138 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 41 abstained and 9 voted against: Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, U.S., Panama, The Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, and Micronesia."

Much work and much talking but less violence still remains though, the Palestinian State has been fragmented by the Isreali Occupiers so much so that it would virtually be impossible to have a proper contiguous state if illegal Israeli Settlements are not moved back to Israel to within the pre 1967 borders:

Palestinians are bracing for what they hope will be a political breakthrough at the United Nations. The General Assembly is expected to vote later today on a resolution granting Palestine non-member observer status, similar to the Vatican. Many of Israel's diplomatic allies are planning to vote in favour or, like Australia, abstain. The vote comes 65 years to the day after the UN first presented a plan for two independent states - Israeli and Palestinian - in the region. Source here.

The enhancement of Palestine's status is a step that will benefit all parties looking to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict and achieve peace in the region through the two-state solution, that is to say two states living side by side in peace and security. There can be no doubt that this initiative will help all parties to break the current political deadlock and advance the peace process.

The Palestinian position is in line with international law and the UN resolutions which the EU and international community at large has long supported. Obstructing this initiative would therefore be illogical: the EU would be effectively opposing its own positions, including its 2009 statement. Moreover, this UNGA vote could be used as a source of positive pressure to steer the peace process back in the right direction.

Opposing the Palestinian position is also counterproductive. Equally, abstention is unjustified and would send a signal that the EU either has no position on this important issue or that it has chosen to stay on the sidelines. Either way, such a position would undermine the high standing and positive engagement of the EU in the Middle East peace efforts. Furthermore, opposing or undermining the Palestinian step will send a confusing and contradictory signal, especially given the EU's longstanding and important role in encouraging other parties to seek diplomatic solutions to their conflicts, and has been actively involved in UN efforts vis-a-vis other conflicts. Palestine is not and cannot be made the exception of this policy.

The Palestinian people reject all threats, including those announced by Israel, in response to this positive step. Palestinians cannot be made to choose between advancing their inalienable rights and going hungry, This is a choice no Palestinian can accept. The international community must assume its legal and moral responsibility and compel Israel not to carry out its grave threats against the Palestinian people and its leadership, including withholding the transfer of Palestinian tax revenues. Undermining the Palestine National Authority, by withholding taxes or undertaking other reported Israeli reprisals will be damaging to all stakeholders.

Contrary to some claims, Palestine's status enhancement at the UNGA will support any efforts the American Administration and other key players could undertake to restart negotiations. The Palestinian initiative can be employed to create motivation and new momentum for a credible and effective political process. This step will only reaffirm what the EU and US already agree are the acceptable terms of reference to a final agreement.

EU support, whether unanimous or not, is highly important. A common EU abstention or postponement will not only ensure the continuation of the status quo of occupation and colonization which it condemns, but will also certainly weaken the EU's position to influence US vis-à-vis Middle East Peace Process, as the EU will be effectively side-lined as a result of its decision not to engage positively in this Palestinian initiative. To maintain credibility and weight in the process, the EU cannot be seen to be standing against the Palestinian people and their national rights.

The right time for Palestine's status enhancement at the UNGA is now. The Palestinians have dedicated over twenty years to try to reach an agreement with Israel through EU-US efforts, while the situation on the ground has deteriorated severely. Recent events in Gaza make this step even more imperative. Israel's assault on Gaza was a tragic reminder of the urgency of this step. It is time for the international community to take effective steps that ensure the recent scenes of death, destruction and despair are never repeated. The only guarantee for the prevention of violence anywhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is by taking a step that advances the diplomatic agenda towards ending the Israeli occupation.

Recognition of Palestine and support of its enhanced status at the UN affirms previous important UN resolutions and the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Wall (2004), which assert that the Palestinian right to self-determination is a right erga omnes. rights is an indispensable element in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East

In this regard, we reaffirm that self-determination is an inalienable right that is not subject to negotiation. Independence has never been a final status issue. The right of peoples to self-determination is non-negotiable and the Palestinian people will thus never negotiate this right or subject it to Israel's whims.

Finally, the Palestinian initiative at the UN does not contradict nor substitute negotiations. These are parallel paths that complement one another. Enhancing Palestine's status at the United Nations to Observer State is a confirmation of the international consensus regarding the two-State solution and the right of the Palestinian people to their independent State. It affirms respect for UNSC Res 242 by not recognizing illegal Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian land beyond the 1967 border and rejecting its acquisition of territory by force. Hence, supporting this step would be a reaffirmation of the internationally-agreed on terms of reference and end game of a credible political process to which we remain committed.

Let us all pray that the votes will be overwhelmingly in favor of Palestine's application to the UN as Non-member Observer State. Its a small step in their long, winding and bloody road to their ultimate goal of sovereign nationhood.

I given up on these Dong Zong extremists, I think its definitely time for our ruling politicians to take off the glove and tell Dong Zong and their supporters what many majority Malay/Bumis think, that if they Dong Zong want real 100% Mandarin Language Based Education then they will have to set up shop in Taiwan or the People's Republic of China.

This is Malaysia, the national language is Bahasa Melayu, this fact will not change as long as the Majority are Malays/Bumiputras and even if there is a change of Government. If you Dong Zong people don't like the Federal Gomen policies and do not want to speak Bahasa Melayu fluently then you people have many choices at your disposal, its a free country, stop going for demos here demos there, you can, if you wish, migrate to anywhere on the planet where the minority is kindly allowed to have their own vernacular schools.

Don't worry Malaysia and Malaysians can manage just fine without you or your demands.

What? Yes! there is no country in this world like Malaysia. Good Luck.

Saturday, 24 November 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Education Blueprint 2013-2015 does not intend to sideline any vernacular schools which exist in this country, said Education director-general Tan Sri Abd Ghafar Mahmud.

Abd Ghafar emphasised that the Education Ministry will ensure that every government and government assisted school received access, equity and quality education.

"The existence of National Type Schools (SJK) is also enshrined in the Education Act 1996 (Section 28) and further strengthened in the Blueprint (Chapter 7, pages 7 - 16)," he said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement was issued in response to a memorandum from the United Chinese Schools Committees Association of Malaysia or better known as Dong Zong, querying the status of Chinese education.

Abd Ghafar said the government had no intention of changing the status or features of national-type schools and that even the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister had mentioned that Malaysia had the edge from various legacies, being the only country, outside of China, to have national-type Chinese schools.

Abd Ghafar also said it was not accurate to say that additional time given to Bahasa Malaysia, to 570 minutes a week, may jeopardise their mother tongue.

He said the additional time was only for students in rehabilitation classes at SJKC who were weak in the language, who were only about 30 per cent of the students.

"The Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) has been implemented in stages since 2011 beginning with Year 1. In 2014, this 2011 Year 1 cohort will be in Year 4 (Level 2 KSSR).

"The increase in Bahasa Malaysia learning time for the Level 1 SJKC is from 270 to 300 minutes, while for Level 2, from 180 to 270 minutes, " he said.

However, he said, the differences should be seen in the context of two systems, namely the time allocated for level two, which were 180 minutes for KBSR and 270 minutes for KSSR.

He said the longer period of up to five hours a week or 300 minutes allocated for remedial classes was only compulsory for SJKC students who required them.

Hence, the time increase allocated to Bahasa Malaysia for Year 4 to Year 6 was actually from 180 to 270 minutes, he explained.

"The length of time is increased by one hour a day with the aim of improving Bahasa Malaysia proficiency among students who have not attained the minimum proficiency from Years 4 to Year 6 in SJKC and SJKT. "The ministry feels that it's better for students who have not mastered the language to be identified at an early stage in Years 4, 5 and 6.

"The availability of remedial classes for an hour each day for those who have not attained the minimum level of proficiency, will help them master the language before they complete primary schooling," he said.

At the same time, he said, the government admitted that the mother tongue was important and thus encouraged the people to master Bahasa Malaysia, English and their own mother tongue.

Abd Ghafar also explained the rationale for Year 4 to Year 6 SJKC pupils to follow the same syllabus as national schools.

"It is aimed at enabling SJK pupils to master Bahasa Malaysia faster before they enter secondary schools where Bahasa Malaysia is the main medium of instruction," he said.

He added that this would also ease their transition to secondary schools and prevent them from dropping out. - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 – The National Education Blueprint 2013-2015 does not intend to sideline any vernacular schools which exist in this country, said Education director-general Tan Sri Abd Ghafar Mahmud, today.

Abd Ghafar emphasised that the Education Ministry will ensure that every government and government assisted school received access, equity and quality education.

“The existence of National Type Schools (SJK) is also enshrined in the Education Act 1996 (Section 28) and further strengthened in the Blueprint (Chapter 7, pages 7 - 16),” he said in a statement, here today.

The statement was issued in response to a memorandum from the United Chinese Schools Committees Association of Malaysia or better known as Dong Zong, querying the status of Chinese education.

A total of 20 Dong Zong, led by its chairman Dr Yap Sin Tian, had presented the memorandum to Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, on Sept 26.

Abd Ghafar said the government had no intention of changing the status or features of national-type schools and that even the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister had mentioned that Malaysia had the edge from various legacies, being the only country, outside of China, to have national-type Chinese schools.

Abd Ghafar also said it was not accurate to say that additional time given to Bahasa Malaysia, to 570 minutes a week, may jeopardise their mother tongue.

He said the additional time was only for students in rehabilitation classes at SJKC who were weak in the language, who were only about 30 per cent of the students.

“The Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) has been implemented in stages since 2011 beginning with Year 1. In 2014, this 2011 Year 1 cohort will be in Year 4 (Level 2 KSSR).

“The increase in Bahasa Malaysia learning time for the Level 1 SJKC is from 270 to 300 minutes, while for Level 2, from 180 to 270 minutes,” he said. – Bernama

Friday, 23 November 2012

The Dong Zong extremists are up to no good again, they want to rally some more to protest about the Gomen plan in the National Education Blueprint (NEB) to increase the hours for teaching BM in Chinese Schools, it threatens the Chinese Schools they say:

I do not want to discuss the merits or demerits of Dong Zong's constant demand to the Gomen which they say is based on Article 152 of the Constitution, our Perlembagaan lah. Now lets have a look shall we:

It is quite clear that MU proposes to give instruction in its courses in Chinese,

whetheras the only or the main medium of instruction,

whichever it is andthe proviso accordingly affords no protection for that purpose.

The omission of the preposition cannot be repaired in view of the express language of the proviso and no interpretation by analogy in this regard can be resorted to either.

Words in a statute must be taken to be used correctly and exactly and the onus on those who assert that they are used loosely or inexactly is a heavy one (New Plymouth Borough Council v Taranaki Electric-Power Board (at page 682). It was laid down by the Privy Council in Ram Chunder Dutt v Jughesh Chunder Dutt that ‘arguments from analogy may arise where a principle of law is involved; but where the courts are dealing with the positive enactments of a statute, reasons founded upon analogies are scarcely applicable'."

The Judgement continues:

"The question therefore arises as to the true interpretation of proviso (a) to Article 152(1).

Having regard to the words used in the proviso, viz. “teaching or learning any other language” as opposed to “teaching or learning in any other language”,

I tend to agree with the restricted meaning enunciated by Abdoolcader J when dealing with schools or other educational institutions.

In my view, under proviso (a), although the National Language shall be the Malay language,

the usage of any other language other than for official purposes, is guaranteed;

so is the teaching or learning of any other language in schools, be it Chinese, Tamil, Arabic or English.

But there is nothing in proviso (a) to justify the extension of the protection to the operation of schools where the medium of instruction is Chinese, Tamil, Arabic or English.

This strict interpretation is consistent with

proviso (b) which guarantees the right of the Federal Government or any State Government to preserve and sustain the use and study of the language of any other community in the Federation.

Thus, the preservation and sustenance of usage of language of any other community is guaranteed.

So is the preservation and sustenance of study of any other community’s language,

but again there is no justification in extending the guarantee to the preservation and sustenance of study in the language of any other community in the absence of specific words to that effect.

Any other interpretation of proviso (a) would result in abusing the words used in the proviso.

It is absurd for instance to think that the proviso gives constitutional protection to teaching or learning in school where the medium of instruction is Russian or Japanese.

To my mind, the protection only extends to language but not to medium of instruction in schools.

In other words, no person shall be prohibited or prevented from teaching or learning Chinese or Tamil or, for that matter, any language which is not the national language in any school as a language subject,

but such protection does not extend to the teaching or learning in a school where the teaching or learning is in any other language.

As correctly stated by Abdoolcader J the omission of the preposition “in” after the words “teaching or learning” in proviso (a) makes the distinction necessary. In the event, it is my finding that the Accused is not guilty of sedition when he advocates for the closure of Tamil or Chinese schools. Whether or not such closure is advisable or feasible is, of course, another matter to be decided elsewhere and not in this court. There is nothing unlawful in allowing Chinese or Tamil schools to continue."

Ok now, it has been established in the Constitution that no person shall be prevented or prohibited from teaching or learning Chinese or Tamil etc, BUT it is also established that the teaching in schools where the teaching or learning in any other language (means Chinese or Tamil, Arabic etc.) other than Bahasa Malaysia is NOT protected by the Constitution.

In this, the Dong Zong and their supporters should be thankful to the BN led Federal Gomen who are instrumental in propagating the vernacular schools since Merdeka.

I do not agree with the BN Gomen policy on vernacular schools as I like many other Malaysians believed that vernacular schools does not contribute to a United and Prosperous Malaysia it will only give rise to polarization, discrimination and feelings of superiority (you knowlah same old, same old my education quality is better in my language than yours thinghy).

Our young are voluntarily segregated from early childhood and do not mix like they should in a multi-racial and multi-religious nation. They will grow up (and the signs are all there) not knowing the culture of others, thinking their race are superior and refuse to understand each other, they live in a vacuum, living separate lives speaking in different languages.

That is why I strongly support the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua..Satu Bahasa, Satu Bangsa, Satu Negara initiative, with Bahasa Malaysia as the main Language, English strengthened and Mandarin or Tamil or any other mother tongue language be taught within the National Curriculum. Children who study and play together will grow up together, will understand each other better and its contribution to a United and Prosperous Malaysia will be enormous.

Coming down to earth, the BN Federal Gomen have already made iron clad guarantees that the vernacular schools will exist as long as Malaysian wants it, read here, I have come to accept that vernacular schools are here to stay as long as Malaysian wants it to exist.

However, after more than 50 years of Merdeka and realising that vernacular schools are producing Malaysians who could not string a proper sentence in Bahasa Malaysia, the Federal Gomen in a moment of genius had decided that the Bahasa Malaysia taught in the vernacular schools shall no longer be the watered down version of the national curriculum according to the NEB read; "Standard Bahasa Malaysia curriculum for all both government and vernacular primary schools - goal to abolish 'remove' class in secondary schools by 2017"Source here. I believed this is the Dong Zong's latest focus of complaint..more BM time means less time for our precious Mandarin they say...and screamed 'bloody murder' our Chinese Culture is being threatened never mind that there are many Malaysian Chinese who could not speak or speak Mandarin sparingly and surprise of surprises, their Chineseness still remained intact, some even more so. Don't get me wrong, this is a free country you can be as Chinese or as Malay or as Indian as you like as long as you don't break the Law and cause harm to others OK.

So Dong Zong, Despite the Constitution not giving protection to the vernacular schools, the Gomen in their great wisdom have given iron clad guarantees to all communities almost like sovereign bonds and say that vernacular schools shall exist as long as they are required by Malaysians.

The Chinese schools nor the Chinese Culture in Malaysia are in any imminent threat any time soon lah. So enough of these demos OK Dong Zong? while you guys feel 'banyak syiok' shouting among yourselves in an open field saying the Gomen is bad and threatens the Chinese schools and Chinese Culture blah blah, the world knows and recognizes Malaysia as the only country on planet earth outside of the People's Republic of China which recognizes Chinese Education in Mandarin.

Dong Zong needs to change its Pre-Merdeka mentalitylah, lets join other Malaysians who have moved on more than 50 years of Merdeka. How much Mandarin do you Dong Zong wants a Chinese in this country to know anyway? This is the country where we are blessed to be born in, and this will be the country where we will, God willing, be buried by our children. We live in this blessed multiracial and multi religious country called Malaysia, no race will be satisfied with what the Gomen can give to each community. Lets live and let live, we certainly cannot live in our own vacuum.

Having said all that, if the stubborn Dong Zong continues to exert pressure on the Gomen with their unreasonable and extreme demands, be warned, it could just cause enough aggravation to majority Malaysian that a future Future Federal Gomen will have no recourse but establish a Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but in a democracy where the majority makes up more than 65% of the population anything could happen.

Monday, 19 November 2012

The cat is out of the bag so to speak, it seemed that despite denials by Pro-Anwar factions in PAS, the grassroots wants TG Hj. Hadi to be PM if Pakatan ever gets in power after the next PRU 13.Interesting development indeed:

Actually deep in their heart with a fighting UMNO rigorously regaining lost Malay votes from the 2008 election, both PKR and PAS knows that the Chinese dominated undemocratic DAP which is set to receive almost total Malaysian Chinese support and is expected to win the most number of seats in the Pakatan lose coalition will decide who shall be PM if unexpectedly the loose coalition comes in power at Federal level.

If you think Pakatan Rakyat remember they reject #AES, they want your votes BUT don't care about ur lives or the lives of ur family members

eddydaud's tweet

I am very annoyed with the Pakatan State Gomen especially in Pulau Pinang and Selangor for opposing and refusing to cooperate with the implementation of the AES system. Their main objection it seems is that they are not happy that the AES Contractors are purportedly BN cronies and making too much money, the issue have become so politicized that these Pakatan politicians and their supporters cannot see beyond politics, the fact that the AES has been proven to save precious lives is lost on them.

If they are so worried about BN cronies getting rich, you Pakatan leaders love demo what, so why not do a demo to publicize road safety so that Malaysian motorists follow the speed limits and in doing so do not get fined and therefore do not have to pay the cronies. You Pakatan political pricks will get more votes and what's more you can make sure the cronies don't get paid. Simple is it not? No, you still want to make it complicated kan Khalid and Guan Eng. When will you useless political leaders understand that when you ordered that the #AES implementation be stopped or deferred you are actually pre signing death warrants for many road victims who could have been saved.

You have blood in your hands Khalid and Guan Eng, I hope you can live with the anguish of families who lost their fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in road accidents whose lives could have been saved if only the #AES system had been allowed in your states:

These are the numbers associated with the Automated Enforcement System (AES) so far. But it’s not the numbers that matter, at least not for the Road Transport Department (RTD), Road Safety Department (RSD) and Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), the triumvirate driving the implementation of the AES.

The most important number, just more than a month after the AES came into being, is that the number of images of offenders being captured (or summonses being issued) daily has taken a drastic dip.

Given that the cameras are located in “black spots”, or accident-prone areas, and are operational round the clock, the drop in the number of motorists being caught for speeding or beating traffic lights means there is less chance of an accident occurring.

What this translates into is that lives are being saved, which is the biggest concern of the authorities.

At some sites, the drop from the first week of implementation to the fifth week (up until Nov 4) is as much as 73 per cent (see graphics), and the "triumvirate" believes the figure can only get better.

RTD director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said yesterday his department, RSD and Miros had been keeping track of the system since it became operational on Sept 23.

He said once the AES had been implemented for six months, a comprehensive impact study would be conducted.

Indications were, however, that the system had already made an impact, judging from the dip in summonses issued.

"It's not that we want to issue summonses to these motorists. If no one speeds or beats the traffic lights (and we don't have to issue summonses), then it's great," Solah said at a briefing on the AES to Media Prima Bhd news organisations.

"The impact study will be done after six months, which is less than most other countries which carry out their studies after three years."

The aim of AES, he said, was to change the attitude of drivers in the areas where cameras were located.

Miros director-general Professor Dr Wong Shaw Voon said when motorists changed their attitudes, over time, they changed their attitudes wherever they were driving.

At present, there are 14 cameras in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak. The authorities plan to install cameras at another 817 black spots, 561 of which will be speed cameras while the remainder will be at traffic lights.

The departments have been studying the use of AES since 2004. Parts of the system are in use in more than 90 countries.

Wong said the move to install AES cameras was an important measure.

"Studies have been projected that if we do nothing, by 2020 we will have more than 10,000 road deaths a year. So this is the step we are taking."

Last year, there were 6,877 road fatalities. In 2010, there were also more than 6,000 deaths.

On education, RSD director-general Leslie Leon said while classes on road safety were being taught in primary schools for several years now, these had been expanded to Form One this year.

Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim yesterday announced that the Selangor government would not allow the AES system to be enforced in the state.

This followed a meeting between state government officials and Solah on Thursday, in which Khalid said he was not convinced that the AES was the best way to solve the problem of high road accidents and deaths.

Solah took Khalid to task.

"To me, (Khalid) just refuses to understand... (he) would like to understand it (only) from his angle and interest."

In the interest of people's lives, I hope the Federal Gomen and the AG find out absolutely if the Pakatan State Gomen can stop the implementation of the AES in Federal funded and supervised roads and highways. If they can, then the Federal Gomen must introduce or amend laws to compel that the AES be implemented in any states in Malaysia with or without the State Gomen's consent or approval. Thousands of lives are being held hostage by Pakatan's endless politics. Enough is Enough!

Sunday, 11 November 2012

I often wondered why much of the Arab lands are never at peace, there seems to be a endless wars, chaos and destruction. If they are not fighting against the Israelis the Arabs will be fighting among themselves. Perhaps this soul searching article by an Arab could shed some light on the many whys and what could have been in the Arab World(Source: arabnews.com):

Thirty-nine years ago, on Oct. 6, 1973, the third major war between the Arabs and Israel broke out. The war lasted only 20 days.

The two sides were engaged in two other major wars, in 1948 and 1967.

The 1967 War lasted only six days. But, these three wars were not the only Arab-Israel confrontations.

From the period of 1948 and to this day many confrontations have taken place. Some of them were small clashes and many of them were full-scale battles, but there were no major wars apart from the ones mentioned above.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is the most complicated conflict the world ever experienced.

On the anniversary of the 1973 War between the Arab and the Israelis, many people in the Arab world are beginning to ask many questions about the past, present and the future with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The questions now are:

What was the real cost of these wars to the Arab world and its people.

And the harder question that no Arab national wants to ask is:

What was the real cost for not recognizing Israel in 1948 and why didn’t the Arab states spend their assets on education, health care and the infrastructures instead of wars?

But, the hardest question that no Arab national wants to hear is whether Israel is the real enemy of the Arab world and the Arab people.

I decided to write this article after I saw photos and reports about a starving child in Yemen,

a burned ancient Aleppo souk in Syria, the under developed Sinai in Egypt,

car bombs in Iraq and the destroyed buildings in Libya.

The photos and the reports were shown on the Al-Arabiya network, which is the most watched and respected news outlet in the Middle East.

The common thing among all what I saw is that the destruction and the atrocities are not done by an outside enemy.

The starvation, the killings and the destruction in these Arab countries are done by the same hands that are supposed to protect and build the unity of these countries and safeguard the people of these countries.

So, the question now is that who is the real enemy of the Arab world?

The Arab world wasted hundreds of billions of dollars and lost tens of thousands of innocent lives fighting Israel, which they considered is their sworn enemy, an enemy whose existence they never recognized.

The Arab world has many enemies and Israel should have been at the bottom of the list.

The real enemies of the Arab world are;

corruption,

lack of good education,

lack of good health care,

lack of freedom,

lack of respect for the human lives

and finally, the Arab world had many dictators who used the Arab-Israeli conflict to suppress their own people.

These dictators’ atrocities against their own people are far worse than all the full-scale Arab-Israeli wars.

In the past, we have talked about why some Israeli soldiers attack and mistreat Palestinians. Also, we saw Israeli planes and tanks attack various Arab countries. But, do these attacks match the current atrocities being committed by some Arab states against their own people.

In Syria, the atrocities are beyond anybody’s imaginations? And, isn’t the Iraqis are the ones who are destroying their own country?

Wasn’t it Tunisia’s dictator who was able to steal 13 billion dollars from the poor Tunisians?

And how can a child starve in Yemen if their land is the most fertile land in the world?

Why would Iraqi brains leave Iraq in a country that makes 110 billion dollars from oil export?

Why do the Lebanese fail to govern one of the tiniest countries in the world?

And what made the Arab states start sinking into chaos?

On May 14, 1948 the state of Israel was declared. And just one day after that, on May 15, 1948 the Arabs declared war on Israel to get back Palestine. The war ended on March 10, 1949. It lasted for nine months, three weeks and two days. The Arabs lost the war and called this war Nakbah (catastrophic war). The Arabs gained nothing and thousands of Palestinians became refugees.

And on 1967, the Arabs led by Egypt under the rule of Gamal Abdul Nasser, went in war with Israel and lost more Palestinian land and made more Palestinian refugees who are now on the mercy of the countries that host them.

The Arabs called this war Naksah (upset).

The Arabs never admitted defeat in both wars and the Palestinian cause got more complicated.

And now, with the never ending Arab Spring, the Arab world has no time for the Palestinians refugees or Palestinian cause, because many Arabs are refugees themselves and under constant attacks from their own forces. Syrians are leaving their own country, not because of the Israeli planes dropping bombs on them. It is the Syrian Air Force which is dropping the bombs. And now, Iraqi Arab Muslims, most intelligent brains, are leaving Iraq for the est. In Yemen, the world’s saddest human tragedy play is being written by the Yemenis. In Egypt, the people in Sinai are forgotten. Finally, if many of the Arab states are in such disarray, then what happened to the Arabs’ sworn enemy (Israel)? Israel now has the most advanced research facilities, top universities and advanced infrastructure. Many Arabs don’t know that the life expectancy of the Palestinians living in Israel is far longer than many Arab states and they enjoy far better political and social freedom than many of their Arab brothers. Even the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip enjoy more political and social rights than some places in the Arab World. Wasn’t one of the judges who sent a former Israeli president to jail is an Israeli-Palestinian?

The Arab Spring showed the world that the Palestinians are happier and in better situation than their Arab brothers who fought to liberate them from the Israelis.Now, it is time to stop the hatred and wars and start to create better living conditions for the future Arab generations.

— This article is exclusive to Arab News.
almulhimnavy@hotmail.com

The above is a sensible article written by an Arab for Arabs. It is also a good lesson for many of us: that the enemy is sometimes not from the outside but from within by action or inaction.Posted in Chittagong.God will not change our fortunes until we act to do so.

Saturday, 10 November 2012

"After being married for 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair, such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."

Rtd US Army General Petraeus

Here is news on Retired US General Petraeus and now former Director of the CIA, apparently he had an extramarital affairs against his better judgement, was probably outed and good for him, he decided to resign from public office:

For many of us here who always held up the religious high ground when we compare ourselves to the USA, now hear this, many of America's Politician and Civil Servants even Corporate Big Wigs when outed for infidelity or extra marital affairs will have the moral courage to resign or be fired from office.Doesn't say much about our moral high ground, does it, if some of our so called Politicians who even when outed in authentic videos or photos refused to resign and what's worse their infidelity with prostitutes or other people's husbands/wives are even ignored by their peers and supporters. Sigh.Posted in Chittagong.

A very prominent Specialist from Pahang who has been commenting regularly in my blog when it concerns Lynas Gebeng's safety is in the news today, Thank God Almighty that finally Dr. Looi's learned voice has got nation wide attention it truly deserved, courtesy of The Star.I hope our Judges who will be hearing the cases brought by the Pakatan inspired anti-Lynas gang also read, will save our beloved Malaysia a lot of angst:

Published: Monday November 5, 2012 MYT 1:39:00 PM

KUANTAN: A prominent Pahang doctor has rubbished concerted "lies" spread by the Opposition among local residents on radioactive concerns from the recently completed RM2.5bil Lynas rare earth plant here, saying that the anti-Lynas campaign was purely politically motivated to win votes in the coming general election.

Datuk Dr Looi Hoong Wah, a consultant physician with 40 years of interest in nuclear medicine and particle physics, said the anti-Lynas activists had been brainwashing the people here for the last two years despite the fact that there would be "absolutely no radiation waste or any toxic waste whatever" from the plant.

Lynas' safety was verified by six independent bodies, including the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world's highest authority for atomic energy.

"The substance they bring in is just nothing but rare earth oil containing a tiny bit of weak radioactive thorium 232.

“That is an extremely weak sort of radioactive substance and it has a very long life of tens of billions of years.

"And all this anti-Lynas people say...oh our great-great grandchildren are going to suffer for 14 billion years. This is absolutely rubbish," he said. Dr Looi said if one were to look at the half-life of radioactive material (the time required for a quantity to fall to half its value), the longer the half-life, the less dangerous it would be.

"For instance, if half of a house is burned down in 14 billion years, will it cause any problem? No, it won't cause any problem because there is only a tiny fire, whereas if it is burned down in 40 minutes, then a lot of people will get killed or injured.

"The same thing with lead, the one we use in our car batteries. It has a long half-life as well of 19 billion years. “Because it has such a long half life, it is practically non-radioactive when you use it in your cars. So thorium is very weak radioactively," he said

Asked how he got interested in nuclear science and particle physics, Dr Looi said he developed an interest when he was a medical student in Manchester about 40 years ago as one of his tutors was a nuclear physicist.

He said he had put thorium in his hand without any side-effects till today because thorium, when released outside connected with electrons to produce helium gas, just like the one used to fill balloons, which was completely harmless. Dr Looi reckoned that it was purely for political reasons that the Opposition was trying to work everybody up about the Lynas plant in Gebeng.

"The thorium 232 or decay products produce only a tiny bit of electron, which is electricity.

“It doesn't cause any problem. You find that Lynas' radiation, once you are outside of the boundaries of the plant, the radiation is zero.

“There is no instrument on this earth which is sensitive enough to pick it up," he said.

Dr Looi said the disinformation on the Lynas bordered on ridiculous assertions because even in a human body there was radioactivity as well due to potassium, which doctors give to patients to control the intake of salt in hypertension and other cases.

"Even in our body, we have about 4,400 becquerel (Bq) whereas the Lynas waste and ore contain less than 6 Bq per gram.

“This is already 124 times more than the Lynas worst case scenario. So why complain about a Lynas plant in Gebeng here where there are 124 Lynas plants in your body producing radioactivity?" he added.

Asked on the effects on workers, he said what they could possibly get was only less than 20 percent of the permitted dosage. Dr Looi also quoted Dr Nick Tsurikov, the international radiation specialist, as saying that there was no radiation risk whatsoever as far as the Lynas plant was concerned.

He also said that opposition to the plant should take into account that more than 1,000 quality jobs were at stake and these are people with families for them to put food on the table.

"Once you have a rare earth plant around, (other) companies will come, like Siemens (which) is planning to come in and make use of the rare earth. They will produce thousands more jobs because of the spill-over effects," he said.

Dr Looi appealed to non-governmental organisations and the Opposition to "wake up" and realise that the Lynas plant would be of great benefit to the country.

"You can brainwash people for some time but you can't brainwash them forever," he said. - Bernama

It seems that the PPSMI reinstatement issue will not die, not when there are many parents out there who are concerned enough to fight tooth and nail for their children's future. I think the Ministry of Education better sit up and take notice, the call for PPSMI is gathering momentum, and there are many parents/voters who would trade their votes for politicians who would support the PPSMI and it looks like it matters not which party the politicians come from.

These determined parents are even keen to meet the Malay Rulers as well, so never under estimate their resolve Dear Prime Minister.

PETALING JAYA: There were more calls to maintain the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) at the final dialogue session to engage stakeholders on the preliminary report of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.

Parent Action Group for Education (Page) Malaysia honorary secretaryTunku Munawirah Putra said the proposal to maintain the two subjects in English had not been given proper attention in the preliminary report.

“There was just one paragraph about PPSMI. This is completely unacceptable. We gave our opinions but they were not really taken into account.”

Concerned Parents of Selangor coordinator Shamsudin Hamid said the policy of Upholding Bahasa Malaysia, Strengthening the English language (MBMMBI) should run alongside PPSMI.

“Why was MBMMBI introduced to replace PPSMI? One concerns language proficiency while the other is about knowledge acquisition,” he said at the dialogue which was chaired by Education Ministry deputy director-general (education operations sector) Sufa'at Tumin.

National Indian Rights Action Team chairman and Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia exco member Datuk Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim Al-Haj said the ministry should not rush into finalising the report by next month, as stated in the blueprint.

“They should look into all the views given and fine-tune the report,” he said.

The session was held to gather feedback to further improve the preliminary report, which would be finalised and tabled to the Cabinet in December.

The preliminary report had outlined 11 strategies, to be carried out in three stages, to transform the national education system for the next 13 years.The strategies include improving access to quality education, raising proficiency levels in Bahasa Malaysia and English, developing values-driven Malaysians, and transforming the teaching profession.

Yup, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet should really sit up and listen, jangan menyesal nanti.